Monetary Authority Economic Update
The Bermuda Monetary Authority has published its December 2010 regulatory update, disclosing year-on-year statistics for the island’s financial services sector.
In the banking sector, total assets decreased by 2.3 percent during the third quarter of 2010, dropping from $22.8 billion to $22.3 billion. The decline was primarily due to a drop in foreign currency-denominated deposit liabilities of 2.6 percent, reported the BMA. Reversing the prior period’s gains, cash and deposits with other banks declined by 3.1 percent during the quarter while total loans and advances declined by 3.5 percent. Total investments rose by 0.2 percent but declined 5.2 percent on a year-on-year basis during the quarter from $22.8 billion to $22.3 billion.
Meanwhile, in the funds industry, the total number of island funds decreased from 1,016, recorded in the third quarter of 2009, to 938 in the same period this year 2010. Despite the fall in the number of funds, the net asset value of funds under management increased markedly over the period from $154.4 billion to $183.6 billion.
In the insurance sector, eight new insurers and intermediaries were registered in the Bermuda market during the third quarter of 2010. These numbers represent a decrease from the same period in 2009.
Lastly, the number of new company formations – despite being up year-on-year – have continually declined quarter-on-quarter since the peak recorded in the fourth quarter of 2009, of 320, with 207 new applications being approved in the third quarter of 2010.
The full 20-page release is below, click ‘Full screen’ for greater clarity:
